Two agencies can choose the same white-label platform and end up with very different economics. One may handle a small, stable set of client accounts. Another may spend hours onboarding each customer, resolving billing questions, and coordinating separate tools. The subscription price is identical; the operating cost is not.
This article is a practical worksheet for building a comparable monthly cost model. It focuses on what to include and how to label assumptions. It does not rank vendors or treat similar price structures as proof that their products deliver the same capabilities.
Define the service before comparing the price
Write down what the client is buying. A CRM with branded access, a communications workflow, a website, reporting, and ongoing campaign support are different scopes of service. A platform may cover some of those tasks and leave others to separate providers or the agency itself.
The public documents for Bolten and HighLevel describe distinct plans and billing arrangements. They do not establish identical feature sets, usage limits, payment terms, or support obligations. A comparison is meaningful only after you map each promised task to a documented capability and confirm the configuration in the account you would use.
At the time of review, Bolten documents two partner billing structures. In the 70/30 model, Bolten charges the client and the partner receives 70% of the amount paid; its current documentation describes Stripe as the active route for eligible Brazilian partners and labels the older Pagar.me route as legacy. In Repasse, Bolten charges the partner the minimum price for the tools in use, while the partner sets the client’s price. Verify your own account, country, products, and agreement before using either description in a proposal. Bolten’s 70/30 guide, Bolten’s Repasse guide
On 20 October 2026, HighLevel lists Agency Pro at US$497 per month and includes SaaS Mode in that plan. Its pricing page also says usage-based charges can apply and lists optional add-ons separately. Treat the base subscription as one input, not the complete bill. Recheck the plan and account pricing when you make the decision; the page can change. HighLevel pricing
Build three cost views
Use the same client billing and service scope for each model. Let:
- R = total monthly client payments actually collected for the service being compared;
- N = number of active client accounts;
- K = the current monthly Repasse charge for the exact tools and quantities used by one client, from an itemized quote;
- FX = the exchange rate in Brazilian reais per US dollar on the date you evaluate the subscription;
- U = usage charges and add-ons not included in the base subscription;
- P = payment, transfer, or collection costs that your agreement assigns to your business;
- L = the value of onboarding, support, account management, and delivery labor.
Before taxes and any shared business overhead, the comparison can be written as:
- 70/30 model: 0.70 × R − P − L
- Repasse model: R − (N × K) − P − L
- Fixed subscription: R − (US$497 × FX) − U − P − L
These are starting equations, not profit forecasts. Use the actual amount collected, the current provider quote, and the costs that apply to your own account. If a platform already includes a cost in its share or subscription, do not subtract it a second time. Put taxes and any remaining overhead on separate lines with the guidance appropriate to your business.
The equations also show why headlines can mislead. A percentage share changes with collected client billing. Repasse changes with the tools and quantities assigned to clients. A fixed subscription starts with a base charge, while usage and optional services can add variable costs.
Work one example without pretending it is a forecast
Suppose an agency has five active clients, each paying R$800 per month for a defined service. The scenario assumes every client pays in full and uses the same scope; those assumptions are for arithmetic only.
- Total collected billing R is R$4,000.
- Under a documented 70/30 split, 70% of that amount is R$2,800 before the partner’s own operating costs.
- Under Repasse, the amount left before other costs is R$4,000 − 5K, where K must come from a current itemized quote.
- Under the fixed subscription, the amount left before other costs is R$4,000 − (US$497 × FX) − U.
The calculation does not say which option is cheaper. It identifies which missing inputs could change the result. If you do not know K, FX, U, P, or L, the answer is not ready for a vendor comparison. The next step is to collect those figures, not to substitute a guess.
Add the operating costs that rarely appear in the headline
Setup and client onboarding
Record the time required to configure a client account, prepare a branded environment, migrate or organize existing data, confirm permissions, and train the people who will use the system. If onboarding is a one-time project, keep it separate from monthly recurring cost. If you spread that one-time amount across an expected contract period for planning, label the period and show the calculation.
Support and account work
Track time spent on client questions, changes, access issues, reporting, and coordination with providers. Use your own time records where available. If you do not have them yet, use an explicitly labeled estimate and replace it after observing real work. Do not present an assumed number of support hours as a market benchmark.
Payment and cash timing
Confirm who charges the end client, which provider processes the payment, what fees apply to the particular account, and when funds become available. The 70/30 guide distinguishes the current Stripe route from the legacy Pagar.me route and describes settlement according to the receiving provider’s schedule. Do not reuse a payout estimate from an older guide or from someone else’s account as a guarantee for your own.
For Repasse or any fixed subscription, include the cost of collecting client payments if your business handles that work. Also note who is responsible for following up on overdue invoices, refunds, disputes, and account access. These responsibilities affect cash flow and labor even when they are not platform subscription charges.
Currency and variable usage
For a subscription priced in another currency, record the exchange rate, date, and any conversion or card charge that applies to your payment method. Keep that line visible so a later comparison can be rerun with a new rate.
Read the plan’s current terms for usage, communications, storage, and optional add-ons. A feature listed on a plan page does not mean every volume or external service is included at no extra cost. Record the billable unit, the expected volume, and the provider’s current unit price; if the amount cannot be confirmed, mark it as unknown.
Client count and configuration
A customer count alone may not tell you the provider cost. Record the number of projects, users, enabled tools, and billable units attached to each account. In Repasse, Bolten’s documentation says the partner is charged for the minimum prices of tools in use; an itemized quote for your precise configuration is more useful than a historic example copied from another account.
Keep an auditable worksheet
For each platform and client, save the date and source of the price, the service scope, included limits, account configuration, expected usage, and open questions. Use one row for each recurring charge and one for each variable or one-time cost. Mark every number as one of four types: provider-published price, account-specific quote, measured internal cost, or planning assumption.
A simple review can then answer:
- Which promised client tasks does this platform cover, and which need another provider or human work?
- What is the complete recurring vendor bill for the configuration in use?
- How many hours go to setup, support, and account work, and what is the agency’s chosen internal value for that time?
- Who collects client payments, absorbs payment costs, and handles overdue accounts or disputes?
- Which prices, exchange rates, limits, and terms need confirmation before a proposal or renewal?
Run the comparison at the client count you have now and at a few clearly labeled planning cases. Change one assumption at a time—such as the number of active projects, monthly billing, exchange rate, or support time—so you can see which inputs drive the result. The cases should be planning scenarios, not claims about likely growth or future revenue.
Choose the structure that matches the work
A percentage model can reduce the partner’s fixed platform bill, while the amount retained by the platform grows with client payments. A fixed plan can make the base subscription visible in advance, while the total cost can still move with usage and add-ons. A reseller model can leave client pricing to the partner, while requiring the partner to understand the cost and quantities of the tools assigned to each account.
None of those structures removes the agency’s responsibility to scope, deliver, and support the service it sells. Compare current account terms and equivalent workflows, count the labor, and write down what remains unknown. The best model for a particular agency is the one whose costs and responsibilities it can understand, explain to the client, and sustain under the operating conditions it actually has.
